Accelerometers and related sensors are often used to measure lateral acceleration values, longitudinal acceleration values, and/or other values, during operation of a vehicle. While accelerometers generally provide useful information regarding vehicle lateral acceleration and/or other values, accelerometer values can also be influenced by other factors such as electrical bias from a sensor, gravity from a hill, an uneven (bank) road, and/or other environmental conditions.
Attempts have been made to determine and account for sensor bias and environmental conditions in vehicle accelerometers. However, these attempts often provide a less than perfect determination of sensor bias and environmental conditions, for example by treating one factor as constant while determining a value for the other factor. Such attempts can yield less than ideal results, for example due to a “race condition” in which certain steps in determining one factor compete against certain steps in determining another factor.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an improved method and apparatus for determining and/or accounting for sensor bias and environmental conditions in vehicle accelerometers, without limitations that can lead to a race condition and/or other potential limitations of previous attempts. Furthermore, other desirable features and functions of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.